IBM cements 20 years of patent dominance

IBM earned 6,478 utility patents last year, topping the list of patent winners for the 20th year in a row, according to data from IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. With its record haul, Big Blue bested its 2011 patent tally by 5%.

Samsung was the second most prolific patent winner, with 5,081 patents received in 2012, according to IFI, which tracks and analyzes patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Canon placed third with 3,174 patents, followed by Sony (3,032), Panasonic (2,769), Microsoft (2,613), Toshiba (2,447), Hon Hai Precision Industry (2,013), GE (1,652), and LG Electronics (1,624).

Overall, the USPTO issued a record 253,155 utility patents in 2012, an increase of 13% compared to 2011. Seventeen U.S.-based firms made the top 50 list in 2012, the same number as in 2011. The number of Asian firms also held steady at 26, IFI reports.

Earning its first appearance among the top 50, Google increased its 2012 patent count by 170% to 1,151 patents and landed at 21 in IFIs rankings, up from 65 in 2011. With its 170% spike, Google made the largest gains, percentage-wise, in patent awards among the top 50 assignees.

Apple, which made its first appearance in IFIs top 50 in 2010, also made big gains. Apple earned 1,136 patents, an increase of 68% compared to its 2011 tally, and landed at 22 in the rankings, up from 39 a year earlier. Googles patent haul exceeded Apples by just 15 patents.

Ciscos patent count declined. The company earned 951 patents in 2012, down from 980 patents in 2011, and slid in the rankings, dropping to 31 from a rank of 22 in 2011. HP increased its patent count to 1,394 (up from 1,308 patents in 2011) but slid one slot in the rankings to 15.

For the past five years, the worlds appetite for U.S. patents has been seemingly insatiable, said IFI CEO Mike Baycroft in a statement. Again this year, were seeing a new record for the total number of grants in a single year.

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